Till there was you
by Flasoonist
Summary: It's the first day of the new management at the Neopian Pound, how will Dr. Death & Rose get along? Please R & R!


Till there was you

A neopet romance

A/N: my first neopets story; though I've thought about the idea for a long time. Rose/Dr. Death (Philip) romance… *evil laughter* also, the name before the section of the story is who's POV it is. It took me a VERY long time digging around old neopian news files for when Dr. Death & Rose started working at the pound, so if anyone is wondering, that date _is_ accurate. In non-neopian time, the date is 1/30/2001, & yes, that day was a Tuesday. Please excuse my lame attempt at giving Dr. Death a first name, but… well, he needs one. & Of course, I don't own neopets or any of the characters mentioned, because if I did, I probably wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it. All I own are my Phantom of the Opera CD & my Aisha doll, & if you sued me for those, I would probably cry.

Dr. Death (to be known from now on as Philip):

"God, what is that hellish beeping?" I asked myself before my mind cleared & I realized my alarm clock had been going off for the last ten minutes or so. My hand slapped around my bedside table blindly before landing on the off button of the godforsaken torture device. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, & cast my gaze on the small, day calendar to my left. It was the thirtieth day of Sleeping, Year three, & I was to start a new job today. Mrs. Worely—a rather large woman with a heart the size of your average dust particle & a wit to match—& her yellow blumaroo retired, leaving the pound unmanaged. Well, I'm not the best veterinarian in Neopia for nothing, & I quickly was given the job of managing the pound & taking care of the pets. I wouldn't be alone; a Uni I knew only as 'Rose' would be joining me. "Hopefully she'll prove to be decent company." I said to my reflection in the mirror, wearing my dress shoes, black slacks & a chunky black turtleneck I received for some forgotten occasion. I pulled on my white lab coat—a permanent accessory of mine since I opened up my own neopet hospital—& proceeded to the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth. Morning breath is a big pet peeve of mine, & I hoped this 'Rose' had good personal hygiene. My attempt to run a brush through my hair—which was varying shades of grey, no doubt caused by the stress of the medical world rather than age—proved unsuccessful, & I eventually gave up, & headed out the door. 

Punctuality was another one of the things I valued, & I couldn't figure out which would be more frustrating, being the first to get there, while Rose walks in casually whenever she pleases, or to walk into the building, & have her already be there, making me look like the tardy one. As I walked up to the building, a pink uni rushed past me, & ran into the door in her mad dash for the pound. My first thought was that more & more people were adopting pets these days, but when she unlocked the door with her own set of keys, I stopped. That _couldn't_ be Rose. She looked like the least professional neopet ever! 

"At least she isn't late." A voice said inside my head.

"Yes, but she obviously _thought_ she was going to be late. Unless she's a sprinter." I argued back.

"Just because you don't get any exercise, doesn't mean other people don't either. Give her a chance" was the voice's icy retort, & ending my mental argument with my subconscious, I walked up to the building, knowing it would be an interesting day.

Rose:

I've always been a morning person. Maybe it's the smell of my fresh-brewing coffee, maybe it's the brilliant sunrise over the field near my house, or maybe it's just the fact that my internal clock has never allowed me to sleep past seven, but I woke up at 5:45 feeling refreshed & ready for the first day of my new job. I hopped out of bed & went to my bathroom. After a long, cool shower, I wandered into my small kitchenette, humming some little tune that was probably on the radio yesterday, & grabbed some orange juice from the fridge. It's a little known fact that people who drink orange juice in the morning are more cheerful throughout their day. Needless to say, I had a large glass every morning. After staring out the window absentmindedly for a few minutes while finishing my juice, I went back to my bedroom, & proceeded to hunt through my closet, looking for something professional. This was probably going to be the most serious job I ever held, & having 'Dr. Death', as he was affectionately called around Neopia, lurking around wasn't going to help that. Philip was his real name, & although he was a brilliant doctor for neopets & petpets alike, his sour disposition coined the nickname. Eventually I pulled on some black flares & a white blouse, & went back to my bathroom, brushing my hair out. I dug around the cosmetic bag that held my makeup—looking for something not too flashy—& after a full inspection decided that I was presentable for society.

"Now when am I supposed to get there?" I quietly asked myself while rummaging through the information on the pound that was given to Mrs. Worely, the previous owner. Today was a Tuesday, & the pound opened at nine, but staff should be there between seven & eight. I looked casually at the clock—expecting it to read six-thirty, but to my surprise, it was 7:15! "Where did the morning go?" I asked myself, running to the front closet & pulling out my running shoes. Not professional, but I needed to get to the pound _fast_, & it was quite a ways from my house. I set out from my house at a brisk jog, praying that 'Dr. Death' wouldn't interrogate me on my whereabouts this morning. At that thought, my pride kicked in. 

"Why is what I do with my time any of his business?" I wondered aloud, but my tone wasn't very convincing. Finally the pound was in site, & I passed some slow-walking person who was stupid enough to be walking _in the middle of the street!_ Why can't some people acknowledge that others might be in a hurry? & _Why_ was that person coming to the pound so early, & what was with the white coat… realization hit me almost as hard as the building I ran into. That was the infamous 'Dr. Death'! I couldn't say anything, I whipped out my keys & ran into the lobby of the pound, panting. After what seemed like a few hours, he casually strolled into the lobby, gave me a calculating look, & said. "I'm Philip, but you can call me doctor." His bored tone suggested that he was used to dealing with people that called him that, though he wasn't really arrogant or snotty. He held out his hand solemnly, & I took it, trying to match his serious look. "You must be Rose." He said to me, shook my hand briefly, & went into the main part of the pound.

"He's kind of nice" a voice examined from inside my mind.

"That's like saying the Pant Devil is just misunderstood & wants some friends." I thought coldly.

"You never know," the voice responded with, & I quickly shook my head, trying to concentrate on the instructions Mrs. Worely left taped to virtually every surface.

A/N: that's the end of chapter one, I'll get the next part out as soon as possible. Like it? Hate it? Think I should be removed from society? I'll only know if you review!


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